As soon as you hit a certain age, it makes all the sense to take out a credit card and learn about financial responsibility. The good news is that there is no shortage of “beginner” credit cards in the world that offer small credit limits, so you don’t get too carried away.
One Redditor is in this exact scenario, with a post in r/CreditCards explaining they are looking for their first credit card. Unsurprisingly, they don’t have any credit history, so they likely need a secured card that will allow them to establish some credit history while offering a few benefits.
Why You Should Have A Credit Card
As the original poster points out, the reasons to get a credit card are pretty clear in that you want to establish credit so you can do more in life. A credit report makes it easier to get a mortgage, rent, buy a car, and even get other credit cards to take advantage of even more perks.
Building up credit history shows a lender that you are a trustworthy borrower if you have a history of making payments on time. Yes, you have to be disciplined with a credit card, and you should only use it if you can stick to a budget, but if you can, it’s also a far more secure way to make purchases that aren’t cash.
Credit cards, even new ones, come with perks like the Discover it secure card, which earns 2% cash back at gas stations and restaurants and 1% on all other purchases. The Capital One Platinum secured credit card offers fraud protection, no foreign transaction fees, and a refundable deposit of no higher than $200.
Both of these cards are a great place to start, and as the Redditor is already a Capital One customer with an existing checking and savings account, it seems like a natural fit, as they already know you as a customer.
When To Get A Credit Card
Ideally, you won’t get a credit card until you are 18 years old, which is when creditors first allow you to open an account. It’s a great idea to start this at 18 as it’s a good starting point for entering the professional workforce and establishing yourself as a trustworthy creditor.
Getting your first credit card can be a great choice if you want to build up credit. Even if you want to rent an apartment while at college, having a credit report, while not 100% necessary, will likely help you with a lower deposit.
Should you want to purchase something large, it’s ideal to do so with a credit card, especially one with a 0% APR period. Of course, this leads directly to a conversation about being fiscally responsible, but if you have financial discipline and want to purchase an appliance like a television or a sofa for a family room, you can look to credit to help you do this.
The Redditor’s Next Move
Unfortunately, we don’t learn what this Redditor does in the end, so we don’t know whether or not they opened a credit card and, if they did, where they found one. However, I wholeheartedly agree with another commenter who says Capital One is likely the best option based on the existing history.
However, Discover also makes a convincing argument with its outstanding customer service that it’s worthy of consideration. Honestly, either option would be good, though the Discover card’s cash back percentage is hard to ignore as a major perk in its favor.
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